Safety apparatus for oil-tanks



1 -Bauman,

SAFETY APPARATUS POR OIL TANKS.

` (No Model.)

No. 291,085. Patented Jan. l, 1884. I'

N. PETERS. Pmm-Lmwgnme. wnhingtun. D. a

UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE..

JOHN I?. REINECKE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVAIA.

SAFETY APPARATUS FOR OIL-TANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,085, dated January1, 1884.

` vApplication filed November 22, 183. (No modela To MZ whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P. REINECKE, of Pittsburg, in the county-ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania7 have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Safety Apparatus for Oil-Tanks; and Ido hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof. A Myinvention relates to an improvement in apparatus for removinginiiammable gases from oil-tanks; and it consists in devices which causean induced current of air to pass into the tank above the surface of theoil, and at the same time conduct the displaced gases to a point wherethey may be used as fuel or discharged with safety into the atmosphere.

I will now describe my invention, so that others skilled in the art maymanufacture and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, forming part of this specication, which is a vertical sectionthrough\ the tank, showing my improved apparatus.

It is well known that the gases developed or evolved from the oil inoil-tanks are often of two classes-viz., those which are heavier thanthe air and thosewhich are lighter. There' fore, in applying myinvention, the ow of the gases may be rendered automatic in two ways-incase of the lighter gases, by a draft such as can be produced by a stackor other means, and displacement, and in the case-of the heavier gases,either in alike manner by a draft and displacement or by siphonic actionand displacement.

rIhe essential features of my improved apparatus are an inlet for theair, arranged so as l to deliver the air at the desired point in thetank, (either at the surface of the oil, beneath the gases, or at thetop of the tank, above the gases, according' as to whether the specificgravity of the gases is less or greater than the specic gravity of theair,) an outlet and conduit for the gases, arranged either at thesurface of the oil or at the top of the tank, and a discharge-orifice inthe conduit, preferably situated at a point `distant from the tank, andarranged on such al level with relation to the gas in the tank as toproduce a draft or siphonic action.

In the drawing, c represents the tank, in the lower part of which is theoil b. On the surthe telescopically-j ointed tubes d. These tubesdextend'from the iloats cinto stacks e, ar-

ranged on the cover or roof of the tank, and

they are attached to the iioats in such a many ner as to leave anopening for the passage of the air from the tubes into the tank at thesurface of the oil. The tubes d and stacks e are also united by atelescopic joint. 'Ihe stacks e are open at their upper ends, which areprotected by the hoods f. 4 I

In the stacks e, between the roof of the tank and the top of the stacks,are valves g.

lExtending from the upper portion of the tank a to a point below thelevel of the ground, and thence to a point distant from the tank, is agas outlet and conduit pipe, i', which is -open at its upper end. Iheother end of the pipe i opens into a valve-chamber, 7c, in which is ahinged gate, m, which prevents the backward flow of the gases throughthe pipe i,- and communicating with the chamber k is a vertical stack,n, which extends above the level of the tank. This stack should extendto a point sufficiently high above the tank to produce a draft throughthe pipe i.

On the roof of the tank a is a gas-chamber or casing, o, fromwhich atelescopically-j ointed tube, p, extends downward toa float, q, on thesurface of the oil, which tube and "iioat are similar to the oats c andtubes d.' This casing o communicates with the pipes by a pipe, r,outside of the tank, and in the pipe i, between the tank and the pipe r,is a valve, s. A valve, t, is placed in the pipe r, just above theintersecting point of the two pipesr and t', and an outlet ordischargepipe, u, leads from the pipe r, just above the valvet. Anair-inlet pipe, w, extends from a pump, o, to and into thetop ofthetank, and inthe pipe, at the level of the top of the tank, is aninlet-opening, fr, which may be closed by the valve x.

The operation is as follows: In order to remove the lighter gases fromthe upper portion of the tank, the inlet-pipe w and the outlet-pipe rare closed by means of the cocks or valves w', t, and a. The air passesthrough the open ends of the stacks c down through the tubes d and intothe tank at the surface of the oil. Ait the same time the lighter gasesin the tank pass through the pipe 13 into and IOO through the stack a,the induction of the air and the displacement ofthe gases being causedby the draft from the stack.

In order to remove the heavier gases from the tank, the stacks c areclosed by the valves g and the pipe z'by the valve s, and the valves inthe pipes w and u are opened. The air passes through the inlet x intovthe upper portion of the tank, and the heavier gases pass through thetube p, easing q, and pipe r into the discharge-pipe n, the induction ofthe air and dispiaeement of the gases being caused by siphonic action,By shutting the valve u in the pipe u and opening the valve t, theheavier gases may also he removed from the tank by the draft through thestack n.

rIhe air-pump r may be used to start the siphonic iow of the gases, orto aid in the displacement of the gas through either or both ofthegas-outlet devices.

The gas, as it is discharged from the pipeu, ma5T be used as fuel or forilluminating` purposes.

The advantages of my invention are that the inflammable `gases are drawnaway from the tank, and the danger of fire from the igniting of thesame, either by lightning or from other causes, is greatly lessened.

I do not herein claim the method of pre4 venting the accumulationofinilannnable gases in oiltanks, as the same forms the subjectmatter ofa prior application filed August 3, 1883, Serial No. 102,669.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s-

l. The combination, with an oil-tank, of an air-induction pipe and agaseduetion pipe, said pipes arranged with their open ends on differenthorizontal planes within the tank, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

2. The combination, with an oiltank, of an air-induction pipe and agas-eduction pipe, said pipes arranged with their open ends on differenthorizontal planes within the tank, one of said pipes being provided witha ioat, soas to be automatically adjustable, substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

3. The combination, with an oil-tank, of an air-inducti0n pipe, agas-eductiou pipe, and a pump for creating a draft through the tankabove the surface of the oil, substantially as specified.

In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day ofNovember, A. D. 1883.

JOHN I. REIECKE.

\Vitnesses:

W. B. CORWIN, .lures K. BMU-:WELL

